1 4-2 Short Paper: Court Employee Roles Monique Fletcher Global Campus, Southern New Hampshire University JUS- 261: Judicial Administration Instructor: Scott Garland, M.A. October 2, 2022
2 The legal and administrative staff play an important role in the day-to-day and administrative services area in the judicial system in the United States. The title role of the clerk of courts was created by the United States congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789 which, "outlined three non-judge positions in each judicial district-the clerk of court, United States Marshal and United States attorney" (Stenquist, 2019). Court clerks work within both the federal and state judicial systems but have different responsibilities within both systems. Court clerks who work within the state court system have different responsibilities based on the guidelines that have been established by the state. In addition, the position of a state court clerk is elected by the citizens of a state and their term limit is based upon their home state election laws. The responsibilities of a state court clerk are: "preparing and issuing orders of the court (summonses, probation orders, other official documentation), preparing dockets of cases, examine legal documents submitted to courts, contacting witnesses, attorneys or litigants to obtain information for the court, preparing staff schedules, swearing in jury members, interpreters, witnesses or defendants, instructing parties about the timing of court appearances" (Stenquist, 2019). In the federal judicial system (Supreme & Appeals court), these clerks are called clerks of court. The clerk of the Supreme Court is responsible for supervising both the internal and administrative function of the court, and the planning and administrative management of the Missouri Judicial Conference, which consists of all the judges within the state. The day-to-day administrative responsibilities include: "handling all inquiries and procedural requests from attorneys throughout the state, arranging the docketing of cases, maintaining files in each case before the court, receiving and disposing of fees related to those cases, and printing and
3 distributing opinions of the court" (Missouri Courts, n.d.). The courts clerks for both federal courts report directly to their chief justices. (Missouri Courts, n.d.) State court clerks have a huge impact on helping the courts run more efficiently by managing all the court technological advancements, court calendars, bonding information, and additional court information. For example, the article titled "Circuit Court Clerk's Office Emphasizes Efficiency" states, in January 2012, Circuit Court Clerk Robert Baggett developed a new website for the Franklin County circuit courts office that consists of an extensive amount regarding the different courts within the county. The residents of Franklin County can access court calendars, fee schedules, local and state court rules, and free legal services (Stachel, 2015). In addition, in 2013, the court clerk introduced a new case management system and made it accessible online. Those who subscribe to the service can access criminal and civil cases in Circuit and General courts for a total cost of $350.00 a year (Stachel, 2015). Circuit Court Clerk Robert Baggett states that, "Collection agencies, record research agencies (and)